This invention relates generally to air conditioning systems and, more particularly, to a motor driven louver mechanism for sweeping the conditioned air emanating therefrom.
In an air conditioning system having an indoor unit that discharges the conditioned air directly from the unit to the space to be cooled, it has become common practice to provide a plurality of movable louvers in the discharge opening such that the direction of airflow can be controlled as desired. In order to enhance the air distribution performance of the unit, it has also become common to provide an "air sweep" mechanism, which causes the louvers to be continuously oscillated back and forth to "sweep" the airflow stream between the extreme points from side to side or from top to bottom. Such an apparatus is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,777,870 issued on Oct. 18, 1988 to the assignee of the present invention. It should be noted that, while such an apparatus provides for a relatively even distribution of conditioned air over a relatively large area, the louvers do little, if any towards the enhancement of the "throw" since they remain in parallel relationship at all times.
In order to increase the "throw" of a unit, louver movement mechanisms have been devised so as to orient adjacent louvers into non-parallel positions such that the air is "pinched" in such a manner as to increase the velocity of the air flowing therebetween and to thereby increase the "throw". One such mechanism is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,653,384. While this design does provide for a desirable increased throw capability, there are certain features of the design which are undesirable. For example, the drive linkage and motor arrangement is relatively remote from the two louvers such that the use of space is excessive and the driving force is transmitted over a greater distance than is necessary. Further, while the use of a slotted link does allow a variable pitch of the one louver, it also sacrifices positive control of that louver and may result in its movement in a manner not desired. For example, if the shaft is too tight within the slot, it may hang up in the slot and not allow the proper movement within the slot, and if it is too loose, as may result from wear which will naturally occur from the movement within the slot, then the linkage may become sloppy. But in any case, during the time when the shaft is between the two extremes within the slot, there is no control of the louver. Finally, it would appear that in order to obtain the dispersion that is desired, the louvers are necessarily angled at such extremes that the flow is considerably restricted so as to result in a lower volume of air flowing therethrough.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved air sweep mechanism for an air conditioning system.
Another object of the present invention is the provision for the economical use of space in an air sweep mechanism.
Yet another object of the present invention is a provision in an air sweep mechanism for positive control of louver element positioning.
Still another object of the present invention is the provision in an air sweep mechanism for effectively dispersing conditioned air without significantly reducing the flow volume thereof.
Yet another object of the present invention is the provision for an air sweep mechanism which is economical to manufacture and effective in use.
These objects and other features and advantages become more readily apparent upon reference to the following description when taken into conjunction with the appended drawings.